Secrets Revealed
by Dark Purple Rain
Summary: oneshot Four friends, two conversations, and a multitude of revealed secrets.


**Secrets Revealed**

"Remus."

Remus looked up from the Transfiguration book he was reading for the fourth time and answered, "Yes?"

"I have a question."

"And, hopefully, I have an answer."

"How can you tell if a boy, you know, fancies you?"

Remus, looking somewhat uncomfortable about the question, but not wanting to blow Lily off, answered sort of nervously, "Er... well, ah, I guess... I dunno, he acts strangely around you?"

"Kinda like you are now?" Lily asked mischievously with a giggle, surprised at his reaction.

"Heh. Well, no, I mean, if he gets nervous or withdrawn around you, that's a sign. But also, depending on the bloke, sometimes he'll show off with his friends around you..." Remus trailed off, quite obviously deep in thought about something he had just said.

At that moment, they heard James shout at them from the window across the common room. "Oi! Lils, Remus, look!" James yelled, soon after dissolving into a fit of laughter.

He pointed, and Lily and Remus followed his gaze to the grounds outside, where Sirius was waving his wand about like mad, waving at them and pointing to what his wand was doing. It was then that they noticed the bar of chocolate following the wand's movements in the air, and... Severus Snape, running after it, yelling, "Give that back you worthless git!" After a moment, James ran back out to join them.

Both Lily and Remus were cracking up, and after a minute or two they just continued to sit there, looking out the window, watching the two boys up to their usual mischief. It was Lily who snapped out of it first, at once remembering their prior conversation. She arched an eyebrow and asked Remus, in a voice of mock seriousness, "You sound like you really know what you're talking about, then. Tell me, Mr. Lupin, fancy anyone?" Then, letting her voice become more relaxed and giggly, "...anyone I know?"

"Maayyybe ..."

"Oooh! You _have_ to tell me!"

"You first. There has to be someone, for you to bring it up in the first place."

"As a matter of fact, there is."

"And?"

"Well if you simply _must_ know, Remus, it's a good friend of yours."

A brief look of panic swept over Remus' face, which Lily noticed and found strange, but she continued anyway.

"You can _never_ repeat this to anyone, but... yeah, I suppose I do fancy James a bit. I mean, he's sweet and really witty, despite the fact that he uses his wit solely to wreak havoc on the entire Hogwarts population, but there's also this... I dunno, he just seems so gentle around me, you know? Like, no matter what stupid stunts he may pull, he'd never let anyone or anything harm me. It's so endearing, Remus, and I do think I may be falling for him."

Remus couldn't help the look of relief that he knew Lily recognized as well, but a second later he replied, "Well, Lily, between you and me, I think James may very well feel the same way. He's not very good at hiding what he's feeling, and it's always seemed that he and Sirius were trying to impress someone. There's no way that it can be just a coincidence that every time the four of us are together, James and Sirius are pulling some sort of elaborate prank."

"Yeah, as if they were both in on it together... or as if they both had someone to impress..." Lily trailed off, not outright pointing out to Remus her implication that Sirius was showing off for him.

"In any case," Lily continued, "we're not done yet. I'm not letting you off the hook, mate, you're going to have to tell me who it is that makes your heart race. And you know, Remus, I'd keep in mind if I were you that you are a horrible liar. I guess it comes with the territory of being such a good person," Lily said with a smile.

"Er... OK, but, Lily, you have to promise me something. You can never breathe a word of this to another soul, dead, alive, or in-between. NEVER."

"Of course, Rem, I wouldn't tell anyone if it were that important to you."

"OK, well, it's... er, it's also someone we both know very well."

And finally, Lily put it all together. The embarrassment, the awkwardness, the way Remus had looked when she'd said she fancied a close friend of his... the way he looked at James and Sirius when they were being adorably childish together... it had to be.

"Rem... it's Sirius, isn't it? I swear, I'll never tell another soul so long as I live but... it's him, right?" Lily asked softly, somewhat amazed by the discovery and the fact that it had been so glaringly obvious and so hidden for so long.

Remus couldn't say anything, he just looked at Lily, then looked toward the window where the two boys could now be seen sitting on the grass, looking toward them, deep in discussion about something or another.

"Oh, Remus, that is so absolutely adorable that it makes me want to puke."

"Oh, _thanks_."

"You know what I mean. Remus, has it ever occurred to you that maybe it isn't purely one-sided? Have you ever considered telling him?"

"Oh, god, no. Are you kidding me? Sirius Black, the most... er, promiscuous boy in our year, fancying blokes? It couldn't be possible, and it would be beyond embarrassing if he were to ever find out. He'd hate me, I know he would."

"Remus, you know that's not true. Besides, for one of his closest mates, you don't seem to know very much at all."

"What? What are you saying? That he's... gay?"

"Well, all I'm saying is, there have been occasions where he has been interested in members of the same sex. Just, don't rule it out, OK?"

"Alright..."

They sat quietly for a while, obviously thinking about the two boys outside, before they realized that the boys they had been looking at had suddenly vanished. A minute later, they both walked through the common room door, and plunked down in two seats near where Lily and Remus sat.

"What have you two been in here chatting about all day? Getting rather chummy, aren't we?" James said jokingly, grinning from ear to ear, elbowing Remus in the ribs.

"Oh, we had a nice conversation, didn't we Remus?" Lily smiled then, and gathered her bag and the books around her feet. "Anyway, I should be going, I'd like to get a few more chapters in before turning in for bed. Night guys!" Then she turned to James specifically, and said, in a low, sultry voice, "Goodnight, James."

"Ah, good night, Lily!" James said, somewhat surprised at the individual message.

Lily walked toward the common room door, very pleased with her conversation with Remus, and even more pleased at James' reaction to her obvious flirtatious goodbye. 'This has been an interesting evening,' Lily thought to herself. 'I only hope Remus fares as well as I think I will.'

Meanwhile, James was watching Lily, as both Sirius and Remus looked on, smiling to themselves. At that point, James got up and said, "I think I'll turn in too. Running around with that prat Snivellus all day has got me quite tired, really. Night, Rem. See you in the morning."

"Yeah, see you in the morning, Remus," Sirius said, reaching over to give Remus a quick squeeze on the shoulder. "Night."

Remus muttered a 'goodnight' in return, rooted to his spot on the love-seat in the common room. 'What did that mean?' he thought anxiously to himself. ' Did that even mean anything? He _touched_ me. _He_ touched _me._ He—oh, why am I thinking this way... ah, I need to stop this. I'm going to bed.'

Remus set off for his dormitory, then, but was stopped by a shadowy figure in a dark hallway.

"Remus... come here," whispered a voice that sounded frighteningly similar to Sirius'.

Remus followed the voice, not allowing himself to believe that it was really Sirius, until those beautiful soft hands he had grown to know so well were at his face, pulling him close until he could feel Sirius' hot breath against his mouth. Knowing then that Lily must have been right, he leaned forward and brushed those lips he had so often dreamed of, kissing him softly and tentatively at first, but at once gaining strength as Sirius pressed his body against Remus', wrapping his arms around his waist, kissing him with the power of two starved lovers, meeting for the first time in a seeming eternity. To Remus' displeasure, Sirius broke the kiss then, only to reach for Remus' hand and whisper in his ear, "follow me."

Remus could hardly believe this was happening, and was starting to think that maybe this was all a dream, but nevertheless he followed, holding tightly to Sirius' hand, as they walked in the opposite direction from Remus' room toward what he could only imagine would have to be Sirius'. They walked in silence through the dark halls until they reached their destination, at which point Sirius softly asked Remus if this was what he wanted.

"Yes," Remus barely managed to whisper in response.

The two boys walked into Sirius' empty room, and began to kiss again. Remus felt as though he would die from happiness, but wouldn't allow it until he had had his fill of Sirius, which was starting to seem as though it would never happen. Remus shut off his brain at that point, knowing that whether this was right or wrong, wise or not, he loved it, as he loved Sirius, and that this was the only thing he could imagine that would make him truly happy ever again.


End file.
